A blog for all seasons; A blog for one; A blog for all. As the 11th most informative blog on the planet, I have a seared memory of throwing my Time 2006 Man of the Year Award over the railing at Time Warner Center.
Justice. Only Justice Shall Thou Pursue

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Death Toll Rises As South Picks Up Pieces From Massive Tornado Outbreak

The death toll from a massive tornado outbreak across the Southern United States is expected to continue climbing above 200 as residents pick up the pieces from 137 tornadoes that were reported around the region, including 66 in Alabama and 38 in Mississippi.

The death toll is quite high despite incessant tornado emergency warnings and that emergency officials called for school and business closures to keep people in relative safety. The problem was that some of the storms were so severe that structures were completely obliterated.
Storms mangled communities from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham to Hunstville Alabama. Emergency personnel will have a difficult time given that power is out to wide swaths of area and that the damage has made it difficult to get into some areas to check for survivors and victims of the storms.

The storms were captured on video and the deadly beauty of these storms are all too apparent:

Investigators will comb through the damage paths to determine just how many storms produced tornadoes and the relative strengths of the storms.

UPDATE:
This video shows at least one tornado crossing through the Mississippi countryside tearing up trees and homes and downing power lines. The driver of the car is actually driving directly towards the tornado as the storm crosses within a mile of the car:

More video can be seen here. Video of the tornado slamming into Tuscaloosa can be seen here.